Vikki Goodwin has acknowledged consumer protection concerns around prediction markets in her first comments on the subject following her midterm election victory in the Texas lieutenant governor race.
Speaking with San Antonio news station KSAT 12, the lieutenant governor-elect would not be drawn too far on a topic she said she was not particularly well-versed in, but she said she had “heard a lot of concern about it.”
More specifically, she added:
“The concern I’ve heard is just how prevalent it is, how easy it is to access it on your phone and the concern that young people in particular might go overboard.”
A changing landscape and legislative opportunities
Goodwin’s victory was part of a wider wave of Democratic wins in Texas that saw Greg Abbott lose the governor’s office to Gina Hinojosa and the Democrats take control of the state House of Representatives.
This reshuffling of power has encouraged those in opposition to prediction markets, and a bill was submitted to regulate and restrict the sector in the days immediately following the elections.
Democratic Texas state Rep. Salman Bhojani has filed House Bill 598 (HB 598), which walks a fine line between restricting prediction market operators and legitimizing them.
It notably does not make an attempt to quash sports event contracts, the prediction market product that has generated the most legal action across the US.
However, the bill explicitly states that it would not legalize otherwise prohibited gambling, leaving open the question of whether sports contracts violate existing Texas law.
“This chapter does not authorize, legalize, or license gambling, sports wagering, or other conduct prohibited by Chapter 47, Penal Code, or other laws of this state,” the bill reads.
Goodwin’s gambling stance and youth protections
Instead, the proposed legislation focuses on attempting to protect consumers, which, judging by Goodwin’s latest comments, is her priority as well.
She made no comment about sports contracts when asked for her views on the sector, a decision which could be said to align with her views on sports betting and casino gaming more broadly.
In the same interview, Goodwin declared that she is neither for nor against a liberalization of Texas’ gambling laws, but that her “preference would be to put it up to a vote of Texans.”
Speaking to Austin’s FOX 7 in 2025, she espoused the values of personal freedom and responsibility when asked about casinos, saying, “I have friends who leave the state to go to Las Vegas, to Louisiana, et cetera. And they say: why can’t we have it here in Texas?”
Goodwin has not endorsed HB 598, but its proposed protections for younger traders overlap with the concerns she raised.
Much of the bill is devoted to establishing a set of rules that would bring consumer safeguards to prediction markets in line with those of gambling regulation in most US states. That includes the introduction of a 21+ age requirement and restrictions on advertisements aimed at people under that age.
HB 598 faces a Republican-controlled Senate
While Democrats have taken control of the Texas House, the Senate remains tilted towards Republicans. That means Goodwin will need to nurture bipartisan support in that chamber if she is to be successful with her policy goals.
She appears comfortable with this reality.
“I’ve been in the minority party for eight years in the House, and I’ve learned how to get my bills through with Republicans: you negotiate,” she said. “You figure out what’s in the best interest and where can we find common ground. I think we’re going to have to do a lot of that this session.”
As for Bhojani’s HB 598, a simple majority would be required for final passage in both chambers. Securing a Senate floor vote could prove more complicated.
Outgoing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had already called for scrutiny of prediction markets, directing a Senate committee in March to examine whether federally regulated event contracts were being used to circumvent Texas gambling prohibitions.
Goodwin’s support for the minutiae of the bill is not guaranteed but her comments do indicate an overlap in priorities, suggesting the proposal could have a more significant hearing.
“If we need to put some regulation in place, I certainly look forward to working with senators on that issue,” Goodwin said of prediction markets in the Nov. 11 interview.